Modifying autism assessments; aiming to reduce misdiagnosis in deaf children

Background Many deaf children have been misdiagnosed or have a late diagnosis of autism due to the assessment tools being reliable and valid for use with hearing children e.g. the assessments focus on spoken language and the... [ view full abstract ]

Background
Many deaf children have been misdiagnosed or have a late diagnosis of autism due to the assessment tools being reliable and valid for use with hearing children e.g. the assessments focus on spoken language and the ability to hear.

Rationale
In addition to this other factors can mask the features of autism such as language delays which can be a result of language deprivation as 95% of deaf children are born to hearing families. Social and emotional delay also can contribute to difficulties in assessments, due to language delays and poor access to incidental learning. These factors affect the theory of mind development of deaf children, often resulting in delays. As a consequence of this clinicians have struggled to make clear differentiation between autistic features and features that may result from a deaf child’s life experience.

Main Points
This research project was set up to modify three currently used assessments for autism: ADOS-2, ADI-R, SRS-2 to ensure that they take into account differences in language and the deaf experience. Modifications were made with a panel of international experts using a Delphi consensus process. These modified assessments have also been translated into Sign Language using ‘blind’ translation methodology.

Conclusions
The newly modified assessments are being used with deaf and hearing children who have or do not have ASD to see if they can differentiate the features of autism in deaf children. These assessments will improve diagnosis and interventions; improving the lives of deaf children and their families.